Hi! For those of you who were wondering about the "last minute" surgery....we thought we had an appointment to discuss possible surgery with neuro surgeons at noon on Friday. Thursday AM we found out that surgery had, in fact, been scheduled for 7:30 Friday AM! A bit of a scramble to get our bearings, have questions answered, and get x-rays and CT scan for Steve. But everything fell into place and we didn't really have time to worry, so it all worked out for the best.
He's been in heavy duty pain, both in his head and his abdomen (where the bone flap was stored). On a scale of 1-10, he came out of surgery reporting a 10 for his head. They kept him pretty drugged up, but his head seemed to clear a bit around 2:30 this morning. After that we could alternate pain meds (rather than double dosing him), he could write notes, was more patient, etc. I left the hospital a couple hours ago, and he reports head pain of 8 and abdominal pain of 7, which isn't great but is a big improvement. They plan to take the abdominal drain out tonight, and the head drain and head bandage (which is huge and tight) tomorrow. They're keeping him in the ICU again tonight because of the head drain. But we have watched him get better and better as the day went by, so I'm sure he'll be up and around before we know it. His PT (Tim), Speech Therapist (Laura) and Nurse (Christy) all came by to visit...so nice of them and encouraging to him.
One more huge step on the road to recovery!
Take care!
Linda
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Surgery Update from Rob
Steve's surgery went very well.
So well that he came out of the anesthetic and hour and a half early, in recovery. His head is wrapped tight and something is bothering him in his right ear, (like an itch you cannot scratch), but otherwise he is moving everything. He wrote a very " expletive deleted" note that indicated his displeasure. Can you imagine Beth guessing every letter as Steve wrote, and spelling "Get the f..u..c.............. thing out of my ear!!!" Positive prayers and thoughts worked again!!!
More to follow.
Thank You All
Rob
So well that he came out of the anesthetic and hour and a half early, in recovery. His head is wrapped tight and something is bothering him in his right ear, (like an itch you cannot scratch), but otherwise he is moving everything. He wrote a very " expletive deleted" note that indicated his displeasure. Can you imagine Beth guessing every letter as Steve wrote, and spelling "Get the f..u..c.............. thing out of my ear!!!" Positive prayers and thoughts worked again!!!
More to follow.
Thank You All
Rob
Thursday, May 29, 2008
surgery
Lots of prayers and positive energy, please...Steve is having surgery to replace his bone flap tomorrow (Friday) morning!!
Golf Update
Good Morning to all,
With all the advancements that Steve has shown, I feel funny about putting this post in, but I did want everyone to know of an upcoming deadline. First of all, thank you to all who have responded in so many ways to Uncle Dave's golf outing efforts. June 21st will be a great day. My only message is to remind everyone that May 31st is the deadline to register. Many verbal commitments have come in, but Uncle Dave is in need of firm commitments, either by contacting him directly or submiting your entry fee. Much has to be done in the days that follow May 31st, and a firm headcount is needed by course management in order to set up for a smooth running event. There, I'm done, and again thank you to all for your support of this wonderful event.
Sincerely,
Uncle Rick
PS: Uncle Dave can be reached at perk11435@yahoo.com for any additional questions and/or commitments
With all the advancements that Steve has shown, I feel funny about putting this post in, but I did want everyone to know of an upcoming deadline. First of all, thank you to all who have responded in so many ways to Uncle Dave's golf outing efforts. June 21st will be a great day. My only message is to remind everyone that May 31st is the deadline to register. Many verbal commitments have come in, but Uncle Dave is in need of firm commitments, either by contacting him directly or submiting your entry fee. Much has to be done in the days that follow May 31st, and a firm headcount is needed by course management in order to set up for a smooth running event. There, I'm done, and again thank you to all for your support of this wonderful event.
Sincerely,
Uncle Rick
PS: Uncle Dave can be reached at perk11435@yahoo.com for any additional questions and/or commitments
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
update #68 from Linda
Hi! The most exciting event today was that Steve walked using the "hard" machine once around the room in the morning and then again in the afternoon. I heard Tim asking the other therapists if they were giving him much help, and they said they were not. So, Tim and Mike each held onto one side of the gate (gait?) belt (around Steve's chest) and he walked about 10 steps that way - without holding onto anything! His knees were shaky and his feet weren't perfectly aligned, but he was walking and he was smiling, as we all were!
A friend of mine suggested "pixie sticks" as something to put in Steve's mouth and have him move it around, then swallow. Our OT therapist thought that was a good idea, and did it three times this morning. In the past this has been done with ice chips, which bothers his sensitive teeth. Pixie sticks were such a good idea, and his therapist said he handled it very well! He was also happy to taste something after all this time. :)
In speech the therapist read three words, had him write them down, then asked him to answer several questions, then write the words again. At that point I was struggling to remember them, but Steve did. Then she asked several more questions, and asked him to write the words AGAIN. Honestly, I couldn't remember them at all! Steve, however, had no problem. Amazing. They also sing songs sometimes and have Steve join in if and when he can. Today the therapist sang "happy birthday" and Steve said "Danielle" very clearly. He has a few weeks to practice, but it was a good start!
We had lots of company this weekend...thanks SO much everyone! Steve also got to spend time outside and loved it.
One more thing he was able to do this weekend was to type a note on the computer and send it to a friend, for the first time since his accident. A very short note which took a very long time to type, but a huge accomplishment!
I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day.
Thanks for everything, and take care of yourselves!
Love,
Linda
A friend of mine suggested "pixie sticks" as something to put in Steve's mouth and have him move it around, then swallow. Our OT therapist thought that was a good idea, and did it three times this morning. In the past this has been done with ice chips, which bothers his sensitive teeth. Pixie sticks were such a good idea, and his therapist said he handled it very well! He was also happy to taste something after all this time. :)
In speech the therapist read three words, had him write them down, then asked him to answer several questions, then write the words again. At that point I was struggling to remember them, but Steve did. Then she asked several more questions, and asked him to write the words AGAIN. Honestly, I couldn't remember them at all! Steve, however, had no problem. Amazing. They also sing songs sometimes and have Steve join in if and when he can. Today the therapist sang "happy birthday" and Steve said "Danielle" very clearly. He has a few weeks to practice, but it was a good start!
We had lots of company this weekend...thanks SO much everyone! Steve also got to spend time outside and loved it.
One more thing he was able to do this weekend was to type a note on the computer and send it to a friend, for the first time since his accident. A very short note which took a very long time to type, but a huge accomplishment!
I hope everyone had a nice Memorial Day.
Thanks for everything, and take care of yourselves!
Love,
Linda
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Lobster Story (from Beth)
Hi guys,
I know I've kind of been the absent blogger lately, but I just wanted to quickly share one funny story about Steve that happened this morning. So last night I stayed over at the hospital with Steve, and this morning he woke up early and wanted to watch some TV before getting in the wheelchair, so we turned on ESPN. A couple of minutes into the show (which was about deep sea fishing) a commercial came on for Red Lobster's "jumbo shrimp buffet". I wasn't really paying attention, but then I heard this voice.
"Yummmmmm...."
I looked over and Steve was staring wide-eyed at the screen. I immediately felt terrible, and asked Steve if he wanted me to change the channel. He said no, and then signaled that he wanted to write something. So I got him a pen, and he wrote,
"No matter what I watch, I only see the Red Lobster commercial."
This would have been really sad, except that Steve was cracking up and so was I. He then wrote that he sees the little lobster from the Red Lobster logo everywhere: hopping around the room, hovering up by the TV, sitting next to him in bed, etc. He wrote that when he gets out of the hospital, the first place he's going to go is Red Lobster.
I was a little concerned about Steve's unending series of lobster visions, so I tentatively asked him if his friend the lobster had a name. And then out loud, as clear as could be and in a very serious voice, Steve said,
"He told me his name was Carl."
And then he cracked up again.
So even though Steve hasn't had any food by mouth for over three months now, he can still laugh about it, which to me is pretty darn amazing. And surely, as soon as he gets out, the first place we go will be Red Lobster so we can visit Carl and his little friends, the shrimp. :)
I know I've kind of been the absent blogger lately, but I just wanted to quickly share one funny story about Steve that happened this morning. So last night I stayed over at the hospital with Steve, and this morning he woke up early and wanted to watch some TV before getting in the wheelchair, so we turned on ESPN. A couple of minutes into the show (which was about deep sea fishing) a commercial came on for Red Lobster's "jumbo shrimp buffet". I wasn't really paying attention, but then I heard this voice.
"Yummmmmm...."
I looked over and Steve was staring wide-eyed at the screen. I immediately felt terrible, and asked Steve if he wanted me to change the channel. He said no, and then signaled that he wanted to write something. So I got him a pen, and he wrote,
"No matter what I watch, I only see the Red Lobster commercial."
This would have been really sad, except that Steve was cracking up and so was I. He then wrote that he sees the little lobster from the Red Lobster logo everywhere: hopping around the room, hovering up by the TV, sitting next to him in bed, etc. He wrote that when he gets out of the hospital, the first place he's going to go is Red Lobster.
I was a little concerned about Steve's unending series of lobster visions, so I tentatively asked him if his friend the lobster had a name. And then out loud, as clear as could be and in a very serious voice, Steve said,
"He told me his name was Carl."
And then he cracked up again.
So even though Steve hasn't had any food by mouth for over three months now, he can still laugh about it, which to me is pretty darn amazing. And surely, as soon as he gets out, the first place we go will be Red Lobster so we can visit Carl and his little friends, the shrimp. :)
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Update #66 from Linda
Hello! Just spoke with Rob and he said Steve had a great day in therapy. He did two laps on the "easy" machine that you saw in the video, and two laps on the "hard" machine. I haven't seen it, but apparently he has to support more of his body himself when walking with it. In Danielle's video, you can hear someone telling Steve to hold his head up. He hears that all the time and it's not an easy thing to do. They are looking into getting him a neck brace to help with this, so that his efforts can be more concentrated on moving his legs, etc. Also in PT, they're working on having him move from chair to table, etc. by standing up, moving his feet, and sitting down. I have no doubt that we'll soon be able to use this technique in his room; right now all transfers have to be done with a sling and a lift machine...pretty involved. What ends up happening is that you plan ahead to make as few transfers as possible, and he ends up spending lots of time in one place. When he can handle "pivot" transfers it will be so much easier for him to move around, and make his life nicer.
They've added a new med that helps with "tone" which is part of the issue with his left arm. It was started Tuesday night and yesterday his arm was better, but it seemed like the rest of his body was also more relaxed...not necessarily a good thing! Today was better, though. It's just a situation to keep an eye on and possibly adjust dosages.
His tentative discharge date in Rehab has been extended to June 18th! That's a result of his hard work and the progress he's showing.
Our current big issue is in regards to having his bone flap reattached. There are various opinions about this, and we're meeting with neuro docs on the 30th to decide what's best for Steve.
A swallow test is scheduled for next week. This will be interesting. We are so anxious for Steve to move along in this department, and be able to drink and eat. Last night he was sitting in bed, Beth held a cup of water, Steve held a "sponge on a stick" and he was able to dip it in the water, put it in his mouth, and swallow the water. Did it over and over. My job was to hold his head in the correct position so the water didn't go down "the wrong pipe". No problems at all. But if the OT therapists ask him to swallow, he says he can't "swallow on command"! Please say a little prayer about this. :)
Beth has helped him escape the hospital on two occasions, and he's had a blast. She has none of the parent fears like "what if his wheelchair rolls down the hill?" or "what if he gets too cold and winds up sick?" Both of them just laugh this off, roll their eyes at us, etc. Thanks, Beth! It does wonders for Steve emotionally.
The other thing that does wonders for him is to have his friends visit...remind him of good times and funny events...make plans with him for the future. We know how busy you all are, and how hard it is to see someone in the hospital, but your dedication to him says so much about you. So thanks from us and from Steve.
From all of us...have a nice weekend!
Love,
Linda
They've added a new med that helps with "tone" which is part of the issue with his left arm. It was started Tuesday night and yesterday his arm was better, but it seemed like the rest of his body was also more relaxed...not necessarily a good thing! Today was better, though. It's just a situation to keep an eye on and possibly adjust dosages.
His tentative discharge date in Rehab has been extended to June 18th! That's a result of his hard work and the progress he's showing.
Our current big issue is in regards to having his bone flap reattached. There are various opinions about this, and we're meeting with neuro docs on the 30th to decide what's best for Steve.
A swallow test is scheduled for next week. This will be interesting. We are so anxious for Steve to move along in this department, and be able to drink and eat. Last night he was sitting in bed, Beth held a cup of water, Steve held a "sponge on a stick" and he was able to dip it in the water, put it in his mouth, and swallow the water. Did it over and over. My job was to hold his head in the correct position so the water didn't go down "the wrong pipe". No problems at all. But if the OT therapists ask him to swallow, he says he can't "swallow on command"! Please say a little prayer about this. :)
Beth has helped him escape the hospital on two occasions, and he's had a blast. She has none of the parent fears like "what if his wheelchair rolls down the hill?" or "what if he gets too cold and winds up sick?" Both of them just laugh this off, roll their eyes at us, etc. Thanks, Beth! It does wonders for Steve emotionally.
The other thing that does wonders for him is to have his friends visit...remind him of good times and funny events...make plans with him for the future. We know how busy you all are, and how hard it is to see someone in the hospital, but your dedication to him says so much about you. So thanks from us and from Steve.
From all of us...have a nice weekend!
Love,
Linda
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